November 14, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



457 



had been attacked in several places by a fungus, causing small 

 circular dark brown or black spots, varying from a sixteenth 

 to an eighth of an inch in diameter. The fruit-stems and the 

 foliage were affected in the same way. This orchard had been 

 treated with the Bordeaux mixture made with the ferrocyanide 

 test. That the treatment was responsible for the loss can 

 scarcely be doubted, for in an unsprayed orchard containing 

 the same varieties, and separated from the above only by a 

 fence, no such trouble was experienced. Fruit similarly 

 affected was received from other sprayed orchards, and there 

 can be no question that most of the trouble, if not all of it, was 

 caused by the Bordeaux mixture. 



Apples have also been injured by application of this fungi- 

 cide, but I do not know of a case in which the consequences 

 have been so serious as those just mentioned. The fruit, 

 King and Baldwin, in the orchard that is being treated by this 

 station, showed some unfavorable results of the treatment. 

 Notes taken June 29th show that the fruit was then injured by 

 the applications. The mixture which had been applied, with 

 the exception of the last treatment, made June 16th, consisted 

 of six pounds copper sulphate, four pounds quick-lime and 

 forty gallons of water. On June 16th the ferrocyanide test 

 was used in making the Bordeaux mixture, but it was applied 

 to only a few trees. At the time the notes were taken these 

 trees showed more injury than the others, but the use of the 

 test can by no means be held responsible for all the injury. 

 In a neighboring orchard, containing Baldwin and Rhode 

 Island Greening apples, the fruit was also rusty, although the 

 above formula had been used. I have been informed of a 

 still more marked case in which the mixture, when prepared 

 according to the formula, caused rusty apples. The owner 

 of the orchard was treating a few trees, and some were left 

 untreated. In throwing the fungicide, some of it went upon 

 a tree which was to have remained untreated. Only a small 

 portion of the tree received the mixture, but the owneris posi- 

 tive that on this portion could be found all the rusty apples. 



But, has all the rusty fruit produced this season been due to 

 spraying ? In the orchards of L. T. Youmans, Walworth, New 

 York, badly rusted Baldwin apples could be found, and the 

 trees had not been sprayed. Similar cases have come to my 

 knowledge, and there seems to be no question that some 

 unknown causes may have assisted in bringing about this con- 

 dition of the fruit. 



A microscopic examination of rusted and healthy portions 

 of Baldwin apples shows that the epidermis of the fruit had 

 been lost and that the cell-walls beneath, for some distance, 

 had thickened and presented a brown, corky appearance. 

 This change in the cellular structure of an apple appears to be 

 a healing process, and probably takes place whenever, after 

 some irritation, there is time enough for the change to take 

 place before some form of decay sets in. The greater the irri- 

 tation or injury, the deeper may be this corky formation. In 

 most of the rusty apples produced this year only from four to 

 eight rows of cells seemed to be affected in well-marked 

 cases, but this was sufficient to give the characteristic rusty 

 color to the fruit, although the shape of the apples was hardly 

 changed. 



The causes which have brought about this peculiar condi- 

 tion can only be surmised. The season produced some of it, 

 and as much rain fell early in the year, this may have been 

 one of the exciting causes. In what manner this was brought 

 about still remains to be shown. But the important point is 

 that the Bordeaux mixture, however prepared, increased the 

 evil. This is our best fungicide, and if it can no longer be 

 regarded as safe, the fungus fighters may find it advisable to 

 make a new start in search of a remedy. From the fact that 

 the most severe cases of rusting are in orchards in which the 

 ferrocyanide potassium test has been employed in the manu- 

 facture of the Bordeaux mixture, in order to use less lime, I 

 feel quite certain that by the addition of more lime than this 

 test calls for the trouble may be lessened. 



It has yet to be shown what is the best method of making 

 this mixture, for, as regards the proportions of the ingredients, 

 the work is still far from being finished. In the mean while I 

 believe that the formula which has, on the whole, proved most 

 satisfactory in this country is the use of six pounds of copper 

 sulphate, four pounds of good quick-lime, and from forty to 

 fifty gallons of water. 



Cornell University. 



E. G. Lodeman. 



Mushrooms. 



'T'HE popular idea that Mushrooms are very difficult of cul- 



*• tivation restrains many persons from making any attempt 



to grow them ; but, as a matter of fact, few vegetables can be 



had so easily during the winter months. In some establish- 



ments regular houses are constructed for them, but this is not 

 indispensable, as they may be grown quite as well in any cel- 

 lar, shed or other place that can be kept dark and is close 

 enough to prevent the heat from escaping too readily. Fresh 

 droppings from the stable should be taken every day and 

 thrown on the floor of the place where the bed is to be made. 

 This should be turned frequently until enough has been pro- 

 cured for the bed. There is no need of mixing soil with the 

 manure, as the crop will do equally well without it. The first 

 bed should be made on the floor the whole length of the 

 apartment, about three feet wide at the bottom and rounded 

 at the top, with sufficient space for passing between the bed 

 and the wall. Build up the bed in thin layers, tramping each 

 one firmly until the whole is two feet thick. The firmer the 

 bed is made, the less will be the tendency to heat too violently. 

 A thermometer plunged into it will probably rise in a day or 

 two to over one hundred degrees, but will soon begin to 

 decline, and when it sinks to about ninety degrees the 

 spawn should be introduced. Begin about eight inches 

 from the bottom and make holes some four inches deep 

 and from ten inches to twelve inches apart all over the 

 surface of the bed, and into these place and cover up pieces 

 of spawn about the size of a hen's egg. The bed must 

 be left for about ten days in this way and then covered 

 over with about two inches of fresh loam, which should 

 be fairly moist, but not too wet, and beaten firmly with the back 

 of a spade. The whole should then have a covering of hay 

 or straw three inches thick at first, but if the heat is likely to 

 fall below sixty degrees the covering should be increased. 



When the first bed is completed, begin gathering manure 

 for the next in the same manner and place as for the first, and 

 the heat arising from the fresh manure will keep the atmos- 

 phere of the house sufficiently warm for the crop already 

 under way. 



Where there is room for four beds on the floor a constant 

 supply can be kept up. Beds on the floor are preferable to 

 those on shelves, as they are much easier made and there is 

 less tendency to dry out. Watering, which is always attended 

 with more or less danger while the crop is growing, is thus 

 avoided. After the crop has been gathered the bed should be 

 thoroughly wet with tepid water and a little fresh soil applied 

 and again covered up with hay. A second crop can be gath- 

 ered four or five weeks later. 



Tarrytown, N. Y. William Scott. 



Correspondence. 



Planting Seeds of Cedar of Lebanon. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — I have just received a cone of a Cedar of Lebanon 

 which has recently been cut down on the grounds of a friend 

 in England. As this is the only cone which has been pre- 

 served, I should like to plant some of the seed, but do not 

 know how to go about the work. This particular tree grew 

 on a heavy clayey soil, whereas the soil of Connecticut, where 

 the seed is to be planted, is rather gravelly. Will this make 

 any difference in its chance of life ? 



Greenfield Hill, Conn. J3. 



[The cones of the Cedar of Lebanon are not fully 

 matured until the second, or, according to some authori- 

 ties, not until the third year after flowering, so that if the 

 cone which our correspondent possesses is not fully grown 

 the unripe seeds will probably fail to germinate. If the 

 cones are mature, the seeds will keep fresh in them for a 

 number of years, and grow when taken out and planted. 

 The cones of the Cedar of Lebanon are very hard, the thin 

 broad scales being very closely imbricated or packed, and 

 held together by an abundance of resin. A little patience 

 is required in extracting the large, somewhat triangular, 

 seeds, two of which are usually borne at the base of each 

 scale. Generally, no perfect seeds are produced near the 

 apex or the lower portion of the cone. A simple method 

 of getting at the seeds would be to saw off both ends of 

 the cone, then split it by driving a wedge or spike through 

 its axis, afterward separating the scales and extracting the 

 seeds, working from the base toward the apex, of course. 

 The seeds should be planted in a pot or box of good soil 

 composed of sand and loam, well drained beneath. Place 

 the seeds so that they do not touch each other, and cover 

 lightly with soil — a covering of once or twice as thick as 

 j he diameter of the seed being sufficient. There is usually 



